Shortly after the Canadian professional women's hockey league, CWHL, was shut down at the end of March, 200 women's hockey players threatened not to play in the American professional league, NWHL, this coming season because of the bad conditions.

And several of the big stars are stuck at the boycott.

Now, the non-profit player organization, PWHPA, announces that players will take part in a show tour around the country starting in Toronto on September 20. The main goal of the tour is to get the ice hockey's three major players: the American and Canadian Hockey Association and the NHL to establish a single league with a sustainable economic model, reasonable wages and health insurance.

- I couldn't be more honored or excited to participate in the "Dream Gap Tour" starting in the city I grew up in, "Brianne Jenner told PWHPA and continues:

- Girl players must be able to see their role models compete and dare to dream that they will someday be able to become professional ice hockey players. It's time to close the gap.

Reduce the gap between dreams and reality

The tour, which has been named "Dream Gap Tour", is based on the players' goal of narrowing the gap between what young girls can dream of and what women can do. Some of the world's best ice hockey players will participate, including Hilary Knight, Natalie Spooner, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Brianne Jenner.

- When you've grown up, you've always heard boys say "I want to be a hockey professional when I grow up". But you've never heard young girls dream about the same thing. Rather, they say "I want to go to the Olympics" because it is the biggest thing you can be part of in our sport. I can't make money on ice hockey so when I graduate I aim either to reach the Olympics or to get a job, says Kendall Coyne Schofield, who shocked an entire hockey world when she challenged the world's fastest ice hockey player Connor McDavid on NHL's All Star Weekend in speed.

- This year we want to focus on young ice hockey players, both boys and girls, being able to share a dream that one day they can live on their sport.

In addition to Toronto, the tournament will also be played in Hudson and Chicago with the chance of further stops.

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Kendall Coyne Schofield broke new ground as she challenged the men in the NHL's skill competition during the All Star weekend. Photo: TT / SVT